The present invention relates to an ink transfer printer which transfers ink to a recording sheet such as a plain paper to form an image thereon.
As a printer which transfers ink onto a recording sheet such as a plain paper, following printers are known: an ink jet printer that jets ink onto the recording sheet from nozzles as liquid particles, a thermal transfer printer that heats an ink ribbon (which can be molten by heat) using a thermal head thereby to transfer the ink onto the recording sheet and a wire dot printer that uses a steel wire for striking ink ribbons against the recording sheet.
However, these known printers have following problems: the ink jet printer may cause a clogging of ink in the nozzle, the thermal transfer printer may increase a running cost due to the consumption of ink ribbons and the wire dot printer is inferior in processing speed. Thus, a printer wherein the ink clogging is prevented and the running cost is small and the processing speed is fast is desired.